[Peace-discuss] Fw: Daniel Pipes to talk this Wednesday at Foellinger - "That was then, this is now" department

Tue Oct 12 09:01:14 CDT 2010

The event is on the Hillel calendar, and also has a Facebook page, on which it 
says this:

"Does the "War on Terror" still exist? Dr. Daniel Pipes, Middle East scholar, 
author, and lecturer, will address this question, and shed light on a tumultuous 
struggle which extends from distant deserts to academic halls, from the sheep 
farm to the metropolis. You won't want to miss this amazing opportunity to hear 
Dr. Pipes' message, and ask him your questions directly!

Dr. Pipes studies, writes, and lectures nationwide on the ...conflict between 
radical Islam and the West. He knows Arabic, and has his doctorate in medieval 
Islamic history; his studies have led him to conclude that "It's a mistake to 
blame Islam, a religion 14 centuries old, for the evil that should be ascribed 
to militant Islam, a totalitarian ideology less than a century old. Militant 
Islam is the problem, but moderate Islam is the solution." He has taught world 
history at the University of Chicago, history at Harvard, and policy strategy at 
the Naval War College, in addition to directing the Foreign Policy Research 
Institute serving at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Today he directs the thinktank 
he founded, the Middle East Forum, and oversees Campus Watch, a project that 
critiques academic literature published by North American Middle East 
departments. His personal website is at www.DanielPipes.org.

This event is cosponsored by Stand With Us, the David Project, the Jewish 
Community Relations Council, the Hillel Foundation at the University of 
Illinois, the Chabad Jewish Center at the University of Illinois & 
Champaign-Urbana, the American-Israeli Student Coalition, Great News Radio 
(WGNN/WGNJ), the Orange and Blue Observer, and the Illini Conservative Union."

Certainly, speakers and organizations like this are promoting hate and 
Islamophobia. Hillel should be taken to task for this, let's make that clear. 
Nevertheless, I'm not at all sure what response is merited to what will most 
likely--in this era--be a poorly attended event.

DG
________________________

I wrote this in 2003:

The December 3rd visit of the wretched Daniel Pipes to the U of I is sponsored 
by IlliniPac, a student group sprouted from the Israel Lobby to convey Zionist 
propaganda. Pipes’ message of anti-Islamic racism and rationalized hatred 
provokes the following observations:

            First, Pipes right to speak should be protected from disruption or 
interruption. This would be unlike the treatment of Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi, 
whose invitation and visit to Colorado College last September were met with 
furor and disruption by Zionist activists. Pipes, brought in to counter 
Ashrawi’s message, called her appearance “a grievous error,” accusing her of 
being “on the side of America’s enemies.”

            Second, Pipes’ McCarthyite “campus watch” website smears scholars in 
Middle Eastern Studies programs, identifying over 150 as “apologists for suicide 
bombings and militant Islam.” Since the “dossiers” of Pipes’ targets were posted 
to this website, most have been victims of “spoofing,” with identities stolen 
and thousands of e-mail messages sent in their names. Related to this campaign 
of intimidation is a frightening bill--HR 3077--recently passed by the House of 
Representatives, that punishes academics who do not support U.S. foreign policy, 
and demands that university departments produce graduates who will serve 
state/military interests. 

            Third, Richard Hofstadter’s classic description of the “paranoid 
style” should be recalled, as it applies perfectly to Pipes: “The paranoid 
spokesman sees the fate of conspiracy in apocalyptic terms—he traffics in the 
birth and death of whole worlds, whole systems of human values. He is always 
manning the barricades of civilization.”

            Fourth, Pipes slanderously accuses American Muslims of pervasive 
disloyalty: “At huge conventions closed to the press and public . . . nearly 
every Muslim organization in the U.S. spews forth a blatant and vicious 
anti-Semitism, a barrage of bias, calumny, and conspiracy-mongering of a sort 
that has otherwise all but disappeared from American discourse.” Except, 
ironically, from Pipes’ discourse—as he offers no evidence to support his claim. 
For good racist measure, Pipes has written that the D.C. sniper “fits into a 
well-established tradition of American blacks who convert to Islam turning 
against their country.”

            Finally, Pipes’ website is maintained by an Israeli settler who 
denies the existence of the Palestinian people. Pipes’ contempt is well 
documented: “The Palestinians are a miserable people . . . and they deserve to 
be.” Gamla, an extremist Israeli settler group that advocates a detailed plan 
for the expulsion of Palestinians from both the occupied territories and Israel, 
regularly features Pipes’ writing on its website.

            Along with many others who espouse racism and hatred, Pipes is also 
a crybaby who likes nothing more than to claim he is being victimized by those 
who challenge him. A calm, thoughtful, and practical response to his visit will 
give neither him nor his followers this opportunity.

David Green

________________________________
From: Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
To: Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Mon, October 11, 2010 5:46:43 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fw: Daniel Pipes to talk this Wednesday at Foellinger - 
"That was then, this is now" department

Y'all know about this?? 
 --Jenifer

--- On Mon, 10/11/10, David L. Noreen wrote:

>
>Date: Monday, October 11, 2010, 2:02 PM
>
>
>That was then:  12-4-2003
>
>Article: Controversial speaker draws crowd at U. Illinois 
>Article date:  December 4, 2003
>Author:  Kali Bhandari
>    
>(Daily Illini) (U-WIRE) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- About 1,000 people went through 150 
>chanting and sign-waving protesters, metal detectors, back pack searches and 
>University of Illinois police to see one speaker Wednesday evening.
>
>Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum and a member of the 
>presidentially-appointed board of the U.S. Institute of Peace, was brought to 
>Foellinger Auditorium by the Illinois-Israel Public Affairs Committee, as well 
>as other groups, to speak on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
>
>
>His organization specifically requested the heavy security presence, said Monika 
>Pandya, Foellinger Auditorium manager. … 
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------
>Versus
>"This is now"  10-13-2010
>
>Dr. Daniel Pipes, Middle East scholar, author, and lecturer will be speaking at 
>Foellinger Auditorium Wednesday, October 13 at 7 p.m. Dr. Pipes lecture will 
>address the question: “Does the ‘War on Terror’ Still Exist?” The public is 
>welcome to attend and take part in the Q/A session to follow the lecture.
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     So he's now a "Middle East scholar, author, and lecturer," according to the 
>Daily Illini...
>
>     Is AWARE aware of Wednesday's visit?
> 

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